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Captain America Epic Collection
Captain America Epic Collection, Vol. 21: Twilight’s Last Gleaming
Is this the end of Captain America? As the Super-Soldier Serum in his veins decays, Steve Rogers' health continues to worsen - so he's going to need a little help to carry on shield-slinging, especially against Baron Zemo and his new Baroness! Diamondback may be having doubts about their partnership, but new heroes Free Spirit and Jack Flag join the good fight against the Serpent Society! And Tony Stark has his own way of lending a designing an incapacitated Cap his very own suit of armor! Will it be enough for Steve to survive an epic clash between the Avengers, A.I.M., M.O.D.O.K. and the Red Skull? And left with 24 hours to live, how will Cap spend his final day? Collecting CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) #431-443, TALES OF SUSPENSE (1995) #1, AVENGERS (1963) #386-388 and material from CAPTAIN AMERICA COLLECTOR'S PREVIEW.
480 pages, Paperback
First published February 7, 2024
5 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Mark Gruenwald
919 books44 followersGruenwald got his start in comics fandom, publishing his own fanzine, Omniverse, which explored the concept of continuity. Before being hired by Marvel, he wrote text articles for DC Comics official fanzine, The Amazing World of DC Comics. Articles by Gruenwald include "The Martian Chronicles" (a history of the Martian Manhunter) in issue #13 and several articles on the history of the Justice League in issue #14.
In 1978 he was hired by Marvel Comics, where he remained for the rest of his career. Hired initially as an assistant editor in January 1978, Gruenwald was promoted to full editorship by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter in 1982, putting Gruenwald in charge of The Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Spider Woman, and What If. During this period, he shared an office with writer/editor Denny O'Neil, whom Gruenwald considered a mentor.
In 1982, Gruenwald, Steven Grant, and Bill Mantlo co-wrote Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, the first limited seriespublished by Marvel Comics. As a writer, Gruenwald is best known for creating the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and his ten-year stint as the writer of Captain America during which he contributed several notable characters such as Crossbones, Diamondback and U.S. Agent. He made a deliberate effort to create villains who would be specific to Captain America, as opposed to generic foes who could as easily have been introduced in another comic.
His 60-issue run on Quasar realized Gruenwald's ambition to write his own kind of superhero. However, he considered his magnum opus to be the mid-1980s 12-issue miniseries Squadron Supreme, which told the story of an alternate universe where a group of well-intended superheroes decide that they would be best suited to run the planet
In 1978 he was hired by Marvel Comics, where he remained for the rest of his career. Hired initially as an assistant editor in January 1978, Gruenwald was promoted to full editorship by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter in 1982, putting Gruenwald in charge of The Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Spider Woman, and What If. During this period, he shared an office with writer/editor Denny O'Neil, whom Gruenwald considered a mentor.
In 1982, Gruenwald, Steven Grant, and Bill Mantlo co-wrote Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, the first limited seriespublished by Marvel Comics. As a writer, Gruenwald is best known for creating the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and his ten-year stint as the writer of Captain America during which he contributed several notable characters such as Crossbones, Diamondback and U.S. Agent. He made a deliberate effort to create villains who would be specific to Captain America, as opposed to generic foes who could as easily have been introduced in another comic.
His 60-issue run on Quasar realized Gruenwald's ambition to write his own kind of superhero. However, he considered his magnum opus to be the mid-1980s 12-issue miniseries Squadron Supreme, which told the story of an alternate universe where a group of well-intended superheroes decide that they would be best suited to run the planet
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 17, 2024
The main story told in this collection is of Cap losing and then dealing with the loss of the use of his body, and coming to terms with his impending death as the paralysis that is taking over his muscles eventually takes his heart as well. The story takes many twists and turns, and does certainly feel like a product of it's time, in a good way. At times the art, with respect, can seem a little over the top in various ways but it was the style of the time and as a person who was reading comics back then, I enjoyed the nostalgia of a lot of it, including all of the extraneous pouches and pockets and women with unexplainable posture.
Truly, all things considered, I never thought I would read a story that could justify Cap wearing the wild looking armor he's wearing for a large part of this tale. It does, though, and I really enjoyed it. Like all of the best Captain America stories, it's all about perseverance and heart and striving to do what's right with every moment you have.
Truly, all things considered, I never thought I would read a story that could justify Cap wearing the wild looking armor he's wearing for a large part of this tale. It does, though, and I really enjoyed it. Like all of the best Captain America stories, it's all about perseverance and heart and striving to do what's right with every moment you have.
February 29, 2024
Typical 90's fare, with plenty of T&A, but interesting stories!
August 29, 2025
read captain america issues #439 - #443 and avengers issues #386 - #388
March 27, 2025
The end of Mark Gruenwald's 137 issue run on Cap. Like most of it, it's fine. You can tell he's influenced by the 90's trend of kicking off the characters as this mainly deals with Steve Rogers failing super soldier serum. He gets stuck in this ridiculous looking armor as he becomes paralyzed without it. The armor basically turns him into Iron Man lite instead of the swashbuckling Cap. I do like the introductions of proteges Free Spirit and Jack Free. I'm not a fan of how long time love interest Diamondback gets kicked to the curb and Steve almost instantly forgets about her. She was one of the best parts of Gruenwald's run. There's also a crummy crossover in here with the Avengers. You can see why the book was soon given over to Rob Liefeld in Heroes Reborn.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews